The news today commonly talks about catastrophes hurricanes earthquakes Wars and such. But we are called to preach the gospel. The good news. This is God’s answer and solution for mankind.
The Lord told Abram, I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward. Those who bless you will be blessed and those who curse you shall be cursed.
We also are gifted with these promises because Gods gift to us is Himself, and this is what He has. He is impenetrable to evil. He is our sanctification. If God is our shield, what can get past Him? As though He was off guard? Are you “in Christ”? He prayed the Father to keep us from evil, and the Father never denied that request. It needs to be appropriated. We do this by applying His Word to our understanding. We are on Christ so we put this on.
And “Who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good”. Do not be afraid of their threats.
And we can put this on as well
Romans 8. 28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
When you learn who you are “in Christ”, then the end times fascination of the whole world going to hell in a hand basket way of thinking unravels. You learn to close the door to Satan’s purpose of driving you from God through fear like he did to Adam and Eve. You fulfill the verse in yourself when Christ asked the Father to keep us from evil. And so He does. Satan is accepted as defeated by the cross for him to have no power on you.
We defeat fear in this way because “he who fears has not been made perfect in love because fear involves (mental) torment”. But we have the peace of God.
All the subsectors and the powers of darkness were neutralized and defeated at the cross for us to have this peace during our lives. Just as Moses was told to instruct the Israelites to look at the Rod in his hand wrapped by a snake, so too we look to the cross and are healed. Speaking of Christ “On Him was laid the iniquity of us all, and by His stripes we are healed”. Christ took the serpent to the cross with Him and rendered him ineffective since we are crucified with Him to walk in newness of life. This was our profession at Baptism.
This is how we appropriate the gift of the cross. With our tool of faith we believe and receive. A steep price was paid for you to have this. Despise not the gift or the gift giver.
And of those on whom the tower of siloam fell? Christ said “unless you repent, this will likewise happen to you”. Catastrophic thinking opporates off of fear, and fear is the negative charge of energy that fuels Satan and those who serve him, whether they know it or not.
When we opporate by fear, we are turned from God and looking the wrong way. To repent is to turn back to trusting in God and the things that scripture says about Him.
To reverse your thinking, is to discard your fear for faith and Glorify God in your circumstances. He will honor you for doing so. Those who bless Him will be blessed, and those who curse Him will be cursed. Not because He curses you, but because these are immutable and immovable laws in the spirit by which we are governed. Re-calibrate your thinking with this message. Even as 1st John 2.4 says “I have written to you, young men,
Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,
And you have overcome the wicked one.”
How? By believing the things God has said. Like “I will never leave you or forsake you”. He will not leave you exposed to the enemy if you appropriate His word and draw close to Him. Even as James said “draw close to God and God will draw close to you. Resist the Devil, in this way, and he will flee.
In Isaiah 8 there were those who rejected the peace of God by looking to fearful fascinations and this is what he said.
11 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people:
12 “Do not call conspiracy
everything this people calls a conspiracy; (like end times)
do not fear what they fear,
and do not dread it.
13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,
he is the one you are to fear,
he is the one you are to dread.”
We can reiterate these words again today of the multiple presentations of end times theories and catastrophies that change with every current news article. This stuff is the bad news. And the conclusion of these scripture twisters? Isaiah answers that too.
22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.” And so they are. Following one fear after the other. Who authored that? The god of this age of fear and terrorism that started “in Adam” but ends for those who are truly “in Christ” because “perfect love casts out fear because those who fear have not been perfected in love”. (1 John)
Most people are ignorant that the Savior of the cross is the saving and God’s remedy for your every I’ll for all time. They refuse to be renewed in their mind by Gods Word and the working of faith, to see everything the way God sees things.
God is not out of control, wringing His hands trying to figure out what to do. No, He has His plan being carried out to perfection, bringing many to glory. The King of Kings and Lord of lords controls all these things simultaneously.
Paul said to Timothy “not to let anyone Rob us of our reward”. It is important to wrestle in your mind for the things you have been given. For “the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. He who does this is excepted by God” showing this is a mindset we adopt as being the Elect of God.
His Kingdom is at hand. His Kingdom is in us because “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
Amen
